Saturday, May 30, 2009

Being the thrifty gal that I am, I hate throwing perfectly good stuff away. [Okay, in keeping with the truth in blogfulness rule...maybe I should say...Being the pack-rat that I am, I hate throwing anything usable away.]

To give you the background on this...Bex has this little dehydration problem. Therefore, since she just will not drink water by itself, her loving mother buys lemonade mix for her. She WILL drink that and it keeps her from having one of those upchucking episodes that comes from dehydration.

So here's what happened a few weeks ago. Bex looks in the cabinet and since she had used up the previous jar of lemonade mix and NOT put it on the grocery list, she can't find any lemonade. Having the wonderful memory that I do, I say "Oh, I'm sure there is some pink lemonade mix in there." I know its there, I've seen it time and time again.

After pushing other things around a bit, Bex pulls out a container of pink lemonade mix. "Ummm...Mom, this is Sugar Free! Yuck!" Then her loving mother reminds her..."Would you rather drink that...or have an 'episode'?"

She starts looking at it and sees a coupon! Great! we love coupons!

Then she looks a little closer....

Sure enough... $5 off baseball apparel at JC Penney. Well, seeing "JC Penney" would have set off bells for me...because they only use "Penney's" now. Then, Bex read the expiration date. Can you see it? 12/31/94!!!!

No wonder I knew it was in the cabinet! I've been shoving it around for 15 years!!!! Apparently, nobody in my household likes the stuff!

So, now I know you're wondering..."Did you throw it away, Meggy-girl?"

Ummmm....no. She drank it.

Really! She drank it.

She complained the whole time about it being sugar-free...but she drank it.

So now you know: I'm either the thriftiest gal you know...or a child abuser... hmmmmmm..... she didn't have an "episode" and I can testify she lived! Pack-rats of the world...UNITE!

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Another year -- another Awards Banquet --another opportunity to play dress up! Where does the time go? Seems like we just did this a few months ago!

Here are a few pictures from last Friday night's banquet. Even though we have homeschooled her entire life, Bex has enjoyed playing sports at a local Christian school. Each year, the school has a banquet where they honor athletes and students for their achievments. It's kind of like a prom with awards and no dancing...oh! and the parents are invited. Okay, so its not really like a prom...just a dress-up dinner.

Here's most of the volleyball team and the coaches. Several team members were missing.

Bex was honored to receive the Coach's Award for volleyball this year. That's the "all around you're a really great kid and volleyball player" award. This picture is of Bex and Coach Ginny.

After the banquet, Bex and some of her friends went bowling. They thought they were doing something unique. Little did she know that she was just following family tradition...since her Mom went bowling after a couple of her proms in full formal regalia, too!

Today we celebrated the life of a lovely lady, Betty Hough. I've known Mrs. Betty since I was a little girl. We went to church together. Mrs. Betty and her husband were very instrumental in discipling my Dad as a young Christian--which sure made our family's life take a new route!

About 27 years ago (next month) Mrs. Betty introduced me to my future husband. She was big on manners and would never let someone in a room go without being introduced to EVERYONE! Hospitality was probably her middle name...even though they said it was "Lou."

As a young college student, fresh away from home after losing my Mom, I knew I could always count on a wonderful, home-cooked Sunday meal if I took the initiative to get up and go to church. I wasn't shy about accepting her invitation! During one of those afternoons, she taught me how to make the perfect Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. Every time I make it I think about her.

Mrs. Betty had four children. The oldest two were quite a bit older than me and my brothers. But #3, Phyllis, was only 2 years older and always seemed to be in my brother's class in school. We became friends (probably because she is so much like her mother and is so friendly and outgoing) and kept contact even after my family moved out of town.

Long story...shorter, at least --Phyllis was the Matron of Honor at my wedding. Her older sister made our wedding cake and decorated the church. Mrs. Betty's girls gave me a wedding shower here in Tallytown with many people coming who hadn't seen me for years...they were there for Mrs. Betty, I think. Mrs. Betty loved flowers and trimmed and pruned her beautiful, huge Boston ferns all summer long so we could use them in the wedding. Her family basically put on our whole wedding! Did I say they were wonderful?

When I was pregnant with Bex and ordered on bed rest, Mrs. Betty and another dear friend made it THEIR mission to get me to my Dr.'s appointments. Even then we lived WAYYYYY out in the woods, but they would come pick me up and take me home every two days for three weeks! They were so faithful and kind to me during that hard time.

Mrs. Betty fought her cancer for many years. She was always worried about being a burden on everybody. She never complained. She died five days before her 61st wedding anniversary. Wow! What a lady. Now she's reaping her reward with our precious Savior. What a blessing to KNOW we'll meet again.

Another milepost in our lives. Another wonderful picture of a life well lived.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Since I've committed to not letting too much time go by between posts...and I'm trying to keep them short and sweet (okay, sweet)... I thought I'd share a picture of a recent visitor to the Pine. I was inspired by Jilma's post, I figured the Princess would freak if this were her home and I hope allhisblessings doesn't notice the dust.

For some reason, these guys LOVE the window behind our couch. I don't really mind him/her being there...as long as they don't jump on me. Bex usually gets the job of relocating them outside.

But it can get quite interesting hearing something rattle around...not knowing what it is.

This is the same window where some years ago a snake crawled in between the screen and the CLOSED window (on the outside) and couldn't get out and died. It took us nearly a week to find where the smell was coming from! EWWW!!!!

Friday, May 22, 2009

Okay, not THAT kind of baby! But a baby none the less. This one came on four legs when she was around nine months old...like we NEEDED another mouth to feed around here.

These pictures are from March 3, the day we picked her up. Her former family called her Jasmine. Bex doesn't think that quite fits her personality. Bex wants to name her Cherokee because she looks like an Indian horse. The actual breed is American Paint horse.

Cherokee's mother's name is Pandoras Spell and her father's name is Big Guns Talk. Bex thinks Cherokee's REAL name should be Little Guns Talk Too.

As Bex has been working with the baby, she just calls her Girlie...I'm afraid that's going to stick.

You can see our (aggravating) Thoroughbred, Kodi, in the background checking out the new little filly.

It was getting dark and we were trying to get her settled into the round pen. The other horses were quite intrigued!

Didn't take her long to demolish the hay. This "baby" can EAT!!!!

Here Bex is starting to work her magic with her. Bex wants to spend her life training horses...here is her first real chance to see how that might work. Bex seems to have a knack...we'll see.

We're so thankful to the Brookins family for giving us this opportunity. Hopefully, Bex and Girlie will make them proud!

Sunday, May 17, 2009

As milestones go, this one is another that is bittersweet. I've lost good friends in my life this past year-- my sweet friend Mrs. Edna; my friend, Pat; Grandpa Foster and Mrs. Becky. As promised in my Chapter 1 post in February, today I'm posting a few pictures with Mrs. Becky. (Better late than never!)

Mercifully, Jesus called Mrs. Becky home on May 2. She fell asleep and didn't wake up. Hard for us--but sweet for her. It was Kentucky Derby Day! Jesus must have wanted her to have a better seat for the show! (She was such a horse nut!)

Another milestone we've passed in our lives. We had so many special times together with Mrs. Becky over the last five years. She was full of wisdom, but oh, so much fun! Unfortunately, most of those memories are in our hearts and not in pictures...but here are a few.

This was taken the first year my girls started helping her every Wednesday. (They helped her nearly every single Wednesday for four years and LOVED it!)

Bex on the left--and K on the right. The dog in Mrs. Becky's lap is Mitzy...a certified neurotic dog. The dog is on Prozac--REALLY! It doesn't help.

This photo was after a softball game in Bainbridge. In those days, Mrs. Becky LOVED road trips! She loved watching the girls play...but she loved GOING more than anything.

These photos are from a dinner party at her home she helped the girls plan, prepare and serve. This was part of her "becoming a lady" instructional time. This was a FORMAL dinner party with all the trimmings! She loved all the fru-fru stuff.

Mrs. Becky was a true Southern belle and loved passing along all those traditions to my girls. She would have given Scarlett a run for her money!

The girls invited a couple of friends, used the good china and even did the centerpiece.

Of course, they all had to wear their formal's too! It was such a fun night!

This picture is Mrs. Becky and her friend Ellen. They had matching scooters. Our church's annual women's retreat was going on in Norman Park, GA and Mrs. Becky conned K into bringing her up for the day. She couldn't speak very loud--so she had her little speaker thingy on. This was taken right before she and Ellen went outside and raced their scooters on the sidewalk. It was a great race--neither wanted to lose!

Mrs. Becky was laid to rest pretty much the way she lived-- with the service perfectly planned by HER. Bex was honored to sing her requested "His Eye Is On The Sparrow." I think it was one of the hardest things she has ever done in her 17 years...but she did it beautifully. Mrs. Becky would have been soooo proud of her "Mini-Me!"

Over the past two weeks, we've laughed and cried thinking of our dear friend and mentor. We've talked about how much "blessing" we soaked up in the past five years and how much we'll miss that wisdom blended with humor, humility and so much nurturing. Some of her closest family missed out on this blessing...we were honored to fill that gap!

I miss her so much every day, she was like a second mother--and I don't say that lightly! On the last day of my job as I was on my way home I felt the pain of not being able to go and lay my head on her shoulder and receive her comfort. She would have comforted me...gently patted my head...and then told me "Okay, enough crying...Suck it up and get over it. God is FAITHFUL and tomorrow's another day!" LOL! I can almost hear her say it in my mind. Even with all her infirmity...she ran a good race and I know that today she is reaping her reward. With her AND Mrs. Edna, Heaven will never be the same! But it looks ever sweeter from this side.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Since I'm writing these days about what has happened in our lives over the past couple of months...this is a biggy.

As most of you know, I had been working for an attorney here in town since September. It was THE perfect job! I could not ask for better. I worked whatever hours I wanted --went to work when I wanted--left when I wanted--worked as many hours as I wanted. The work was great too! Challenging, but not tooooo challenging. Did I mention, I was well compensated too?

Ahhh...it was idyllic. When I needed to go do something with Mr. Fix-It, I would just tell the Office Queen I wouldn't be in the next day. When I needed to go spend some family time with my extended family, I would tell the Office Queen that I would be gone and wasn't quite sure when I would return. It was wonderful.

But alas, all good things generally come to an end.

In April, my boss decided to merge his practice with a larger firm out of Miami. He would be moving to and managing the existing Tallytown office of this firm. The bad news...my job was no longer necessary. All this firm's billing is done out of Miami. Ahhh...so sad for me that my job was to be over at the end of April.

Now for all my dear readers...this is a perfect example of God answering prayer. Before finding this job, I prayed for a job that I could deal with at least until we paid Bex's car off. Well, God answered my prayer! Her car was paid off in March. Isn't that a perfect example of God's awesome faithfulness and love? Maybe I should have been praying for a job that I liked AND that would go on until Bex was out of college? Hmmm...

My last day was actually, May 11. It took a bit of extra time to finish out some of my workload. So, now I'm unemployed and looking for a job again. Not that I HAVE to work, but I really enjoyed it. Having a little play money wasn't bad either!

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Another thing that happened in the last few months is that God called Grandpa home. Actually, we aren't blood-kin, but he and his sweet wife pretty much adopted us as family when their daughter married my brother. Grandma was called home about five years ago, after more than 60 years of marriage!

The picture on the right is of Grandpa and his oldest grandaughter, Tiff. He sure loved all three of his granddaughters!

A year or so after Grandma died, Tiff moved in with him. He got a big kick out of telling all his cronies at the BBQ place that he lived with a 20-something gal!

This picture below is of Grandpa and his youngest granddaughter, CJ about five years ago...sitting in a hospital waiting room....waiting. They were both sound asleep.

Grandpa Foster was a giant of a man. Yes, he was a big man...but he was a GIANT to most of those who knew him because he was a REAL man. Intelligent, hard worker, honest, loyal friend, loving and faithful. He was strong right up to his 86th year. He loved to hunt, fish, run his sawmill and build things. He loved to laugh and could tell you stories that would curl your hair! His stories were incredible because they were true--or mostly true. He lived quite a life.

He and his wife had been married around 20 years before their only daughter arrived. You would think they would have raised a spoiled brat and they might have (I didn't know her back then). But that daughter is one of my very best friends now and you won't find many as loving, kind and self-less as she is. Her parents taught her well. My brother's luckiest day was the day he married her. Grandpa took him under his wing and loved him like a son. It was a mutual admiration society!

Anyway, after struggling for nearly a year after a serious stroke, the Lord mercifully took him home in March. I was blessed to have spent a week with the family a couple weeks prior to his home-going.

We'll miss him dearly, but we have the assurance that Jesus paid it all...so we'll see each other again one day.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Thanks for the sweet comments yesterday. I'm going to make a true effort to chat with you a bit more!

In trying to decide on my topic --out of the list I left yesterday, I thought I would try to articulate the one episode I KNOW you're all wondering about. How can a fairly normal, close-to-middle-age womanFALL out her own back door? Well, I can tell you it was NOT a pretty sight!

No head injuries this time! Thank you, Lord!!!!

I was heading out to work with my normal full [stadium sized] cup of OJ/Sprite Zero in one hand, the other hand was full of purse, book, and keys. Just before I opened the door, Mr. Fix-It called; so I was talking to him and holding the phone to my ear with my shoulder (remember both hands were full). I was trying to step around the full 33 gal. trash bag sitting in the middle of the doorway. As I stepped around the bag, out the door and onto the step -- I stepped just right onto a crack in the blocks and rolled my right ankle really, REALLY bad. Instead of doing my normal spread-eagle Superman [flying] impersonation; I went down hard on my left knee. It was really graceful.

I screamed as I went down and it hurt so bad, I started crying as I hit...okay, let's get real...I was sobbing!!!! Remember, Mr. Fix-It is still on the phone...I'm sure he didn't know what to think! So as I'm trying to get myself together, Spooky, the dog comes running up the steps and began alternately licking my face and licking the OJ out of my cup. I had managed to keep the cup upright except for just a few sloshes over the side (told you it was graceful!)

Can you get this wonderful image in your head? Me on the top step, down on one knee, crying and being licked by the dog and YELLING at the same time. As soon as I could catch my breath, I start yelling for Bex to come...of course, she was already on her way from the back of the car where she had been loading trash bags of clothes (hence, the bag in the middle of the doorway) --wondering what in the world was happening! [But mostly trying NOT to laugh!] All I could do was sob and yell for Bex to "COME GET THIS PHONE!!!!" I was afraid I would drop it into my OJ and ruin the drink!

It was quite an episode. After Bex had assured her Dad that her mother would probably LIVE...she managed to help me "unload" so that I could get up. It took a few minutes to walk off the searing pain and get it to a livable level. But other than one really tender ankle, one scraped and sore knee, multiple screaming leg muscles and a severely bruised ego..I managed to make it through that day. It took a couple of days of walking carefully, but I'm back to my normal graceful self these days. You can bet, I've stepped gingerly out the door ever since!Too bad the video camera wasn't available...we could be winners!

Stay tuned.

And for those wondering...YES! I DID finish drinking the OJ on the way to work--surely you know I couldn't waste that wonderful stuff! [Bex says "EWWWWWW"]

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Can you believe it's been very nearly TWO MONTHS since I posted here? Would you believe that I had to look up my password? Oh, my goodness that was a strange feeling!

Over the last few weeks, I've been gently nudged by some and not-so-gently nudged by others to get back to BloggyWorld. For those LURKERS who fuss at me while I'm in line at a FUNERAL visitation (you KNOW who you are!!!!) I will say to that person (who shall remain nameless)--girl, you better COMMENT now that I'm doing this just for YOU!

Okay, that's not true. I'm not really doing it just for her. Another reason for my return to this platform is that my bloggy-friend, Chel, has been touting a trip to Hawaii on Facebook, which made me decide that in order NOT to be jealous of her blessing, I must get back to writing down all the blessings the Lord has bestowed on ME!

I thought today, Mother's Day, would be an appropriate day to get back to posting in BloggyWorld. Especially since my true reason for blogging at all (sorry Stacey) --has been the desire to leave a written testimony for my sweet Bex of her growing up years. The last two months have been full of milestones in our lives, but I haven't made time to write things down. I'll try to correct this in the coming days.

A few of the milestones include: Bex's new baby girl, Grandpa going home to Glory, my niece's trial, me being laid-off from my job, Bex's first church solo in our Easter program, my nephew's wedding, Bex's grown-up decision-making skills regarding Camp Charis, me getting bi-focals, my niece's surgery, my sweet friend Mrs. Becky being called home with Jesus, Bex finishing her first year of college and me and Bex singing a duet in the BIG service at our church. Oh, wait...I forgot me falling gracefully out the back door...can't forget that one!

Does this sound like enough to keep me busy for a while? As I try to tap on each of these events, I'll try to keep from writing a book about each one (yes, I know...famous last words). So stay tuned, my bloggy-friends --if there are any of you still left out there. It doesn't really matter, I'm doing this for my future grandkids. Maybe it will make them smile!